Life of a Middle Aged Wallflower
by Moonchild Lady of Shadows
Summary: Life is not looking good for Kel when her boyfriend dumps her for a younger office flower. Suddenly she finds herself playing big sister to her young co-workers,will she forever be stuck on the side lines watching others fall in love?GOING TO BE REWRITTEN
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: All rights belong to their respective owners_

_AN: This story is going to be based off and leaning strongly on two really good dramas I watched, I believe one was Korean while the other was Japanese. They are Anego and Witch Amusement (though I have yet to finish watching this one) with maybe a small dash of Gokusen because of Kel attitude; I strongly suggest you watch them. The title is subject to change if I think of something I like so be weary. Due to the fact that this is the prologue I'm keeping it short but I will try to make the other chapters longer. Also I have a new puppy and College, both of which take a large amount of my time._

_(Oh and for those of you who have me on author alert sorry but The Living Doll is giving me too many writing problems)_

**Life of a Middle Aged Wallflower**

**Prologue**

* * *

She straitened her black ladies suit so it would lay right instead of making her muscular arms more noticeable. Walking  
through the room to insure everything was in order; she picked up her suit case by the door and began the walk she took every day for the past 5 years.

Sighing as she once again thinks of how mundane her life has turned out to be. When she had gotten the call telling her she was accepted as a regular employee, rare since most that are not contracted are male, she expected to live her dream of a successful career woman but it seems as all that was happening as women finding the higher up husbands and quitting to live the life of luxury, which was not really what she expected at all. Not only that but it seems as if since she is an older employee the younger ones have started to lean on her for advice, even their boss, Mr. Cavall, made her go talk to them when their were problems instead of handling them on his own.

Thinking of what had happened just last week made her want to punch the subway wall, but stopped when she notice the old lady across from her looking at her funny, so she smiled at turned to look at her shoes not allowing any more emotions to cross her face. You see last Monday another employee by the name of Nealan took to calling her older sister and come Friday all of those in their office and even some in different departments had started calling her that.

Then, as if to make matters worse, Cleon her boyfriend of 2 years, had said he had to go on an urgent business trip which he would not be back from till the next Wednesday. Ruining her entire weekend plans and causing her to stay home sulking with a gallon of ice cream and a mix of bad game show reruns and Spanish soap operas. That is until her mother came home crying about how she was not married yet at her age. Then of course promptly taking over her apartment, cleaning cooking and such, in order to show her how a 'real' woman must be portrayed.

Of course that was all part of the weekend past and today was a new day. With plans to go with her mentor and fellow employee, Allana, to a standing bar after work to get rid of the stress of training new employees soon. And of course to meet up with Cleon as soon as he is back in town have managed to lighten her step considerably.

This leads us to where we are currently, outside one of the leading corporations of Tortall. Who am I you ask? "I am Keladry Mindelan. I am 30 years old. To my younger co-workers I'm a big sister, to those who don't know me I'm a hardcore business woman. I'm in a happy relationship for the first time in my life as if by some miracle. I'm just trying to live life day to day with some hope of breaking out of my boring cycle. So for now I'll just have to fight on!"

* * *

_omg squee I just found out that Anego did not end where I thought it did, because their was a special, hopefully this will fuel my writing….and people might actually read this… I'm not going to beg for reviews with this story due to the fact that I'm really just writing it for me since I never plain out how my stories go so each time I write it's like I get to read a story I love, though reviewing would be nice XD Oh and I'm actually not going to tell the coupling since Kel may or may not end up dating most of the popular and not so popular couplings at least once, but if you honestly want to know which pairing I support the most I suggest checking out my deviantart…whelp till next time and a longer chapter!_


	2. Curse of the Kurinji Flower

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to their respective owners

_Disclaimer: Everything belongs to their respective owners_

_Alright so I'm trying to figure out which pairings will be in here. I know for sure their will be Kel/Joren and Kel/Dom, but I'm also leaning on a brief Kel/Roald and of course you have already seen she will be with Cleon. Though I think I'm going to need more pairings, so please throw some at me. There are only a few couplings I will insist on, one being their will be no Kel/Neal sorry I can't get into that one strongly like others do. Side couplings you like would also be great, though I'll be sticking to the books couplings. I should warn you all that it has been about 4-5 years since I have read this series so it may not be as fresh in my mind as it once was. Please tell me if you notice any mistakes or if you think of a better way to word something._

_Songs I was listening to while writing this (really helps the mood of the story especially the last part.): Frozen by Within Temptation, Wishes by Superchick, & When it all Falls Apart by The Veronicas _

_Oh well happy reading!_

**Life of a Middle Aged Wallflower**

**Chapter 1: Curse of the Kurinji Flower**

* * *

**MONDAY**

"Alright everyone we have new employees here today make sure you guild them if they get lost". Mr. Cavall said before turning to those new employees, "If you have any problems ask Ms. Mindelan."

Kel scowled at that but choose that it is best not to scare of the new employees on the first day; that is until she noticed one of the employees. "You have got to be kidding me" she mumbled to herself as she face palmed.

"Ah well that is a surprise" a voice next to her ear said, causing her to jump in slight surprise. She turned and saw Alanna smirking at her, "never thought we would see that face again, eh?"

"More like hoping. I thought he went over seas for the company?" Kel whispered discreetly back.

"I was feeling home sick and they decided to resign me here." said the tall blond man with a smirk as he sat at the desk right across from her.

"Oh, how nice." she said with a wince of a smile before quickly turning back to her computer screen in effort to ignore her past enemy.

Joren Stone had made her life hell when she had first started here claiming that it was the man's job to work and women were to stay in the kitchen and watch their children. It sickened her at the time on how many of not only male but also female employees had agreed with him. Also, the fact that he had sounded so much like her mother had not helped her anger. Of course they had only worked together for about a year before Joren had been transferred out in due to the low progress and tension all their fighting had caused. It is beyond me why they would allow us to work in the same environment again even after four years. Hopeful he won't dig up the past and they could ignore each other as much as possible.

"So I see you still aiming at becoming an old spinster"

'Or we could always take up where they left off.' she thought as she glared at the smirking man, but she forced herself to bite her tongue and promptly get to work hoping the day would end soon.

"Ms. Mindelan?" a slightly nervous voice coming from her right spoke.

Kel glance over and saw a young Asian girl she had not seen before. 'Hum, must be one of the new contract employees.' she thought to herself. "Please just call me Kel, how may I help you?" she smiled as she noticed the other girls weariness lessen at her words.

"I don't quite understand how to use this copy machine, would you be kind enough to assist me with it?" she asked while holding up a large stack of papers.

"I would love to." she got up smiling walking over to explain to the girl.

"Ah, thank you. By the way my name is Yuki. Please guild me well" she said as she slightly bowed and quickly started to work on the copies.

"Big sister, you're coming to lunch with us today, right?" shouted a tall man know as Neal from across the room.

"Eh? Neal I thought I told you to stop calling me that you jerk." Kel replied as she stomped over to his desk and playfully slapping in the back of the head, "Where are we eating anyway?"

"I know where there is a really good barbeque joint," Merric stated though he did not look up from his screen once.

"Yeah? Well give me directions so I can meet up with you guys since I still have a bit to do here." she said looking at her watch hoping she would still get a decent lunch with her limited time.

"Tell me what you want and I'll order for you so you don't have to rush to eat," Faleron said noticing when she glanced at her watch.

"Alanna you're coming too right?" Kel said as she wrote down what she wanted on a piece of paper and handed it to him.

"Ah, sorry but I already have plains to go with Daine from design." Alanna said looking slightly sorry.

"Ah a true flower of the building unlike those old hags we got stuck with," Neal said with a wishful sigh.

"Shut up!" the two women replied.

Laughter surrounded the office as the men left and Kel returned to her computer to her computer with a smile hoping she could get done quickly with the letter she had to write.

Feeling eye bore into her she glanced up and her eye instantly connected to ice blue and the tension was back. Frozen for a mere second till the sound of the fax machine broke the silence. Her instant response was to make a rude comment to him, but then she remembered how that had never helped in the past and thus chooses to ignore him in hopes of getting to lunch sooner. The shocked look on his face was worth it, though it quickly turned into a sour expression as he too went back to work.

"Well, I'm heading out now," Alanna said as she stood and grabbed her purse. "Don't want Daine getting mad," she smirked as she left the office heading toward the elevator.

"Ah, wait," Kel said as she finished printing the letter. "I'll walk with you; I have not seen Daine for weeks." She explained as she set the letter on the desk for the director to sign, before she walked with Alanna through the building laughing as they told jokes.

"Alanna, Kel!" came a cheery voice near the doors, both looked over to see a pretty brunette walking their way. "It's so good to see you two," she stated as she hugged them separately, due to the large height difference between them and Kel which made group hugging difficult. "Are you coming to eat with us too?"

"No sorry, I already told the guys I would go with them," she said glancing down at her watch as she spoke. "And I also have to go or I won't have any time to eat. It was nice seeing you again Daine, we'll have to get together sometime." she said as she ran for the doors hoping to catch a bus instead of walk in the heat.

"That girl just never slows down, does she?" Daine said with a smile as she waved bye to Kel. Alanna nodded in agreement as they both walked in the opposite direction of the bus stop.

Kel sighed as she finally got off the bus and walked into the restaurant. Seeing her group she started to walk over, but then she noticed how they all seemed to be some what ganging up on the new worker. It was unusual to see them this serous, especially Neal. She decided to duck behind a near by fern in order to listen in.

"Owen you really don't want to get involved with any of the women working at the company, they are all just man eaters planning ways to get married," Merric said in a superior voice with a nod.

"There are two types really," Neal started. "The young contracted employees that are with the company for only three years and with in that time they hope to secure their life by marring one of the full time employees and never have to work again. We call them the office flowers, because they bring light to where they are at but are not used for much else."

"Then there are the old full time employees that have almost given up on finding a man. It is not like they can compete with the office flowers anyway." Faleron finished for Neal.

"But how can you even tell them apart?" Owen asked with a puzzled expression.

"Simple," Merric said with a grin. "The young contract workers are all still very trendy, while most of the older workers have resigned to wearing more comfortable clothing and wear almost no make-up."

"Oh I see…"

"Ah but you guys forgot about type three," Kel said as she strolled over to them, succeeding in shocking them all. "The married ones like Mrs. Salmalín and Mrs. Cooper," she said while grinning at the nervous looks on their faces. "Now I do believe that if Alanna heard you all scarring poor Owen like this on his first day she would put you all in head locks." She almost laughed as the paled visibly. See, just last week Neal had made a 'short' comment about Alanna who had then proceeded to put him in a head lock for fifth-teen minutes, in which it took him to apologize.

"Ha, jolly good Ms. Mindelan. I'm Owen, by the way." he said cheerfully as he got up to pull her chair out.

"Please call me Kel. It's always nice to see a real gentleman. After awhile you get sick of seeing these office slobs, that's how you can tell the difference between the older employees and the new ones," she said with a wink causing her and Owen to laugh as the others expressed their dislike of her saying such things.

They ate with much joking until it came to go back to work. After the bus ride they were almost threatened to never be allowed to ride again. And the day proceeded as normal at the office with much glaring between Joren and an unresponsive Kel.

"Good work today, everyone. Now go on home," the stump had yelled at every one come six o'clock.

Kel and Alanna quickly cleaned up there areas and walked towards the door, "Be safe while going home tonight" Kel had turned and shouted her nightly good-bye at everyone before heading out.

When Kel had first started working she had a terrible time, mainly due to Joren and other like him. Many were mad that a girl took the spot of where a man should be. At the time Alanna became her savior. She had gone through similar things when she first started, so she stuck up for Kel. But one a fight with Joren had lead to punches, leaving Kel so upset she was read to walk out the door to save her ego from the shame. Alanna seeing this decided to step in. She had told Kel to come hang out with her that night. They had ended up at a standing bar, which Kel not being much of a drinker had never been to the sort. They had ended up drinking till Kel had poured her heart to the older woman. In the end Alanna had convinced her that quitting now would only prove Joren right and that she must never back down if it was something she believed in. Ever since then they went to the same bar as a way to remind themselves to keep fighting.

They walked through the doorway of there usual stomping grounds, as Alanna shouted their orders of two beers to the man.

"Gah, I can't stand that man" Kel mourned loudly as she took another long swig of her beer.

"An, come on, at least you guys haven't managed to get in a stapler war again." Alanna said cracking open another shell and eating the nut inside.

"If it would get him to shut up I would do it in a heartbeat." she mumbled while signaling to the barkeep to fill her glass again.

"I was actually sort of surprised you handled it the way you did. When you had first started you were always so hard headed and jumped at the first person who hassled you, reminded me a lot of myself," she said with a whimsical look on her face. "How you have matured with your mask firmly in place not backing down to anyone, without the bad side effect of looking like a brat." She smiled as she lifted her own drank, "Cheers".

* * *

**TUESDAY**

"Uhhh." was the only coherent sound she could make as the pounding in her head over took all thought process. 'Damn, I must have been so pissed about Joren's return I didn't keep track of how much I drank,' she though rubbing her head as she got out of her bed and walked over to the bathroom in search of some Advil.

Rubbing her eyes as she walked into her living room, finding what had woken her up as she stared at the blinking red light on her machine. Only one person would call her this early expecting her to be up. She pressed the button allowing the message to be played.

_Kel? It's your mother. You must be out for your morning jog because I know I didn't raise a slacker who would still sleep past six. Anyway, I have recently was showing your picture to a fine gentleman at a party and he was completely charmed-beep_

Kel rolled her eyes as she press the off button cutting the drivel her mother was throwing off. Of course her mother would not give up hoping she would fine a 'suitable' husband. She had not approved of Cleon, saying he was nothing but a flirt who would end up hurting her in the end. This prompted her to try to save her dear daughter from such heartbreak, meaning she would try to set Kel up with other men, even in Cleon's presences. Needless to say, Cleon had stop accepting invitations to go to her parent's house, which slightly hurt at first, but she had quickly gotten over it.

Sighing as she thought about it though. She turned on the coffee maker, before heading to take a quick shower. Going through her morning routine as she finally moved to put her shoes on and head out the doors once again. The subway was always quieter this early in the morning and she had a better chance of getting to sit down.

Going to the small café near her work every Tuesday was one of the small treats she allowed herself. It had such a relaxing atmosphere and since it was only run by an old couple many people did not go there due to time restraints. Though, their delicious pastries were to tempting for Kel to stay away long. Smiling happily as she left a tip on the table and headed to work.

The smile didn't last long as she remembered yesterday in the form of a smug blond haired man sitting across from her. Sighing she settled in for another hostile day. Slowly the others started filing in wishing good morning.

"Oh, Kel is it not your turn to get the conference room?" Alanna asked, knowing that even Kel could get forgetful when stressed, as she sat down besides her.

"Ah. So its going to be one of those days," she mumbled to herself, not only seeing the negative of forgetting but also the fact that everybody tend to be more stressed and panicky, no one even talked to the boss in fear though.

Quickly Kel stood and went to the small kitchenette area to get the coffee, putting it on a tray and placing a cup in front of each chair in the conference room. She then went to the computer board and turned it on, rushing to find the proper documents need for this certain meeting, when the door opened.

"Here are the papers, Kel." Yuki said with a smile as she handed her a stack of paper booklets.

"Ah, thank you Yuki, you're a real life saver," she answered as she put them in front of the coffee cups.

"Do you need any more assistance?" Yuki asked, earnestly wishing to help.

"Nope, all done here. The best we can do now is pray it all goes well." Kel said with a slight grimace.

Yuki began to look nervous as she asked, "What if it does not go well?"

"Let's just say you don't want to be the one giving the boss his coffee for a while," Kel stated as they walked out of the room and back to the office area.

The atmosphere in the office was of one stepping on glass. Everyone had busied themselves with work till finally able to go home, since after conferences their department manager would take half days and go home without telling anyone the news.

"So what are your the plans for tonight?" Kel asked Alanna as they were cleaning their areas.

"Ah, I finally get to meet my daughter's new boyfriend." Alanna answered with a wince. "This one has me real worried. Not only has she dated him longer than any guy she has ever been with, but none of us even know his name."

"Well can you blame the poor girl? Not only are her parents over protective but she has guard dogs for brothers," Kel said thinking about the wild young girl she had only met once when she had come into the office trying to explain why it was not her fault the car was wreck. "Sounds like fun, be sure to tell me how it all goes," she said patting her friend on the back as she headed out of the building.

"Oh, Kel! Don't forget the welcome party for all of us new workers is this Friday, it just wouldn't be the same with out you there," Yuki said with a nod.

"I'll make sure I get their, just make sure to write down where it is at," she briskly said as she walked through the doors towards the subway. For some reason she had a bad feeling settle in the pit of her stomach as she climbed the stairs to her apartment and unlocked the doors.

She instantly knew were the bad feeling had come from when she found someone was in her home. Not just anyone either. Of course not many people random go into people's homes to cook and clean, but that appears to be what her mother was doing.

"Ah mom what are you doing here?" Kel asked momentarily stunned, it was far from the first time she had done this but every time her mother came over like this she always had a secret motive.

"Oh Kel your finally home. Now go on and change into some comfortable clothes while I finish making supper." her mother said as she turned and shooed her out of the kitchen area.

Sighing realizing there is no us arguing with her when she gets like this. "So where is dad?" she asked as she began to change into her pajamas and slippers.

"That old grouch said he wanted no part of this," her mother said with a shake of her head and a slight pout.

"Part of what?" Kel asked as she sat at the table. 'Here comes the real reason she came over.'

"You see," she began as she sat a plate in front of Kel and when to her purse to pick up the small booklet besides it to bring it back over to her.

"What is this?" Kel asked without even opening the item, just staring at it in fear.

"Well I told you on my message about the nice young man."

"Ah, ma you didn't." Kel cut her off, completely distressed.

"Look I know you dislike such things, but please give the poor boy a chance. I'm sure if you just meet him once you leave that annoying thing you call a boyfriend," she said moving towards the door. "Please, just take a look dear, if not for yourself, then at least do it for me."

And with that she left, right as Kel put her head down. Losing her appetite over such things she went to seal everything and put it in the fridge. She glanced back once more time at the unopened portfolio before picking it up and tossing it in the trash.

* * *

**Wednesday**

"Uhhh" at the uncharacteristic sound from her normally happy-go-lucky friend Kel turned her head to see what the matter was. Only to find Alanna banging her head into the computer keyboard.

"That bad, huh?" Kel asked with a slight smile thinking of what Aly might have done to annoy her mother this much.

Instead of responding Alanna just glared before returning to banging her head.

"I see. We will talk about it at lunch, ok." Kel said before returning to work.

"You seem in a good mood today, Kel. Anything special happen?" Owen asked.

"Ah, that's a secret," she replied with a wink as she went off to get herself some coffee.

The day seemed to be going calmly, though Alanna's mood did not lighten cause Kel to become worried for her friend. "Alright come on Alanna lets go get something to eat before your brain explodes," Kel stated standing up and heading towards the door as Alanna wearily fallowed.

They choose a small café so they could order sandwiches quickly and still have plenty of time to talk without the negative of the nose in a normal fast food joint.

"So," Kel trailed off as she looked at Alanna wondering what could possible get her to behave like this. "What was it a complete punk or did she wreck her car again?"

"Gah, no." Alanna said with a wince, "She shaved her head! I thought it was bad when it was just blue."

"Ah, now see this is where you forget how much I know you, and that I knew that for the longest time you were so proud of your lovely bowel cut before Thayet got a hold of it." Kel said as Alanna winced at the memory. "So it was the guy that was so bad?"

"You don't know the half it. Listen why don't we talk about it tonight over drinks?"

"Sorry can't, Cleon is coming back tonight." Kel said with a big smile. "Now stop avoiding it and spill."

"He polite and all its just," Alanna trailed but then, noticing Kel's determined look, sighed and continued. "He is part of the circus, in Thailand."

"Wow, leave it to Aly to find the unique ones," Kel said still not getting the freak out factor.

"He was catching crickets at the park which he insisted on cooking for us, apparently it's a main dish there." Alanna said as her face went a little green at the memory.

Kel stared at her in pure shock before she burst out laughing. "It's not funny Kel. Aly made sure we ate some of it." Alanna tried to justify her distress, which only caused Kel to laugh more.

Eventually Kel's laughing had died down and the rest of lunch was spent in a comfortable silence.

Work past slow for Kel as she thought of her date with Cleon. She did not get much done but she figured she would just work twice as hard tomorrow.

As they were dismissed for the day, Kel was the first to jump up. "Well I have to hurry home and get ready," Kel said with a slight blush.

"Is Cleon taking you some where special?" Alanna said with a glint in her eye.

"Cleon?" a voice said in front of them. Both turned to give Joren a shocked look, he at least had the grace to look away and pretend he didn't say anything. Alanna and Kel's response to that was to slightly giggle as he blushed.

"What? Don't worry sis, I protect you from Cleon's evil flirty ways," Neal said as he crushed Kel into a hug.

"Gah. Cut it out you guys." she had managed to get out of the hug and collect her things. "I'll leave first," she said with a wink and a slight skip in her step as she made her way home.

Going through her closet in search of a good outfit had become relatively hard with Cleon. He had already seen the wow ones so many times that they did nothing for him anymore. Sighing she settled on a pair of tan pants with a large black belt that had a gold circle buckle. A dark green short sleeved shirt and some dark brown flats completed her look. She opted to only wear lip gloss seeing as most other make-up was viewed as pointless.

_ringring _

She ran for the phone, not wanting to deal with checking the messages later. "Hello, Keladry speaking."

"Oh, Kel, it's Cleon. Listen can you just met me at the restaurant tonight?" he said with an uncertain edge to his voice.

Kel felt a mix of sadness over him not coming to get her and unease because something just seemed off. "Ah, sure I'll just take a taxi there," she said with a smile knowing how it would effect her tone and hoping it would be enough to cover her real emotions over the change of events.

"Great, see you in a few," he said happily as he hung up abruptly.

Ok now she new something was up, she thought to herself as she hung up the phone. She shook her head in hopes of clearing her mind of the unease before grabbing her purse and walking out the door.

As the taxi pulled in from of the restaurant, she'd be damn that if not only having to be seen not coming in with a date but also coming off of a bus, she saw Cleon's car in the parking lot. 'Wait if nothing is wrong with his car then why didn't he come get me,' she though as she walked into the building. She was about to ask the man setting people where Cleon was, but then the red head suddenly appeared.

"Kel," he said as he rushed towards her, reminding her of a hyper puppy. He stopped very an inch from her sighing happily on her lips as he gently grabbed her face and pulled her into a heated kiss.

After they had finally ran out of room, and the cough of a bushing waiter, they pulled apart in a hazy lust filled daze, "I'm so glad you made it".

"Oh" was all she could say lamely as he smiled and lead her towards the table holding her hand till he let go to pull her chair out for her.

The dinner was relatively calm, except for the innocent touches and the shy smiles, then abruptly it stopped and the atmosphere turned serous, taking Kel completely by surprise.

"Kel their is something I have to tell you," Cleon said while staring at his wine glass, refusing to meet her gaze.

"Yes what is it?' she asked nervously as she moved to cover his hand with hers', but he flinched back and removed his hand from the table. In her embarrassment she let her hand float back to her side of the table.

"Kel I'm to be married next fall," he blurted out as he stared at her with hope.

"Wait. What?" Kel said as utterly confused as she could possibly be.

"You see I wanted to go on a date with you one last time as my last act as a single man, I hope we can still part friends," he said as he reach his hand over to cover hers' and rub it soothingly, hoping to comfort her, and Kel could only stared at him in shock.

* * *

_I really give no excuse to my chapter titles since they tend to come at the moment though in this story they all will some how relate to flowers and their natures or stories that go with them. Sorry that I don't stick to one scene very long I'll try to work on my writing to make it flow easier. Oh and the prologue was crap so I didn't demand reviews but this was a long chapter so __**I want 5 reviews before I update**__…don't get me wrong I'll still write this I just won't post it, sorry. Mainly because I tried my hardest to make this really long since I was originally going to stop at just Monday but I wanted to make this chapter as interesting as possible, might be hard to write because I have to clean another house to make it ready to be sold._

_**Next chapter enter Dom, Jump, and maybe a few others!**_


End file.
